Archive for the 'Amanda Palmer' Tag Under 'Soundcheck' Category

Thirteen years after Ben Folds Five called it quits the trio is back with a new album and a tour that brings the band to Southern California this month. That’s a long break, admits Folds, the singer and pianist whose name the band features. Long enough it seemed a good time to reunite but also long enough that the reasons for splitting up in the first place have faded.

"Well, I was itching to do things my way for one," Folds says when asked why the band, much loved by its fans but never a huge commercial success, broke up. "Which I think was healthy. I wanted to make records that didn’t all sound one way. And I remember basic dysfunction creeping into the entire organization.

"But it was basically because I think we were really tired," he says, referring to bass guitarist Robert Sledge and drummer Darren Jessee as well as himself.

"We were really, really worked. I know a lot of people could hear or read that and think, ‘Oh, I’m an accountant, I’m overworked too, I’d like to quit.’ But I didn’t quit music, I just changed up the way it was done. It is a fun business, and if you’re not having fun anymore I don’t see how anyone else is going to have that."

As KROQ revealed on Monday, Social Distortion is finally returning to its favored O.C. stomping ground: House of Blues Anaheim, where in years past Mike Ness & Co. have often played weeks of shows throughout December and January.

So far, there are only two three gigs at the Mouse House, Dec. 5 and 10-11, as well as a pair at HOB Sunset Strip, Dec. 13-14, and a trip to the chain's Las Vegas club on Dec. 20. Tickets for each, $30, go on sale Friday, July 13, at 10 a.m.

Also coming to the Anaheim venue: August Burns Red with the Color Morale and Overseer, Sept. 22, $20 ... and Alesana, Oct. 25, $18. Those also go on sale Friday at 10 a.m.

Alesana also plays Oct. 26 at the West Hollywood spot, also $18, while Motion City Soundtrack appears there on Oct. 25, $20, with the Jukebox the Ghost and Now, Now. (Also catch that bill Oct. 26 at the Glass House in Pomona, $20, on sale Friday at noon.) And one more a HOB Sunset: DJ Hype, July 21, $25.

• Tiger Army -- Four years ago this locally loved psychobilly trio launched its first series of Octoberflame shows at what's now City National Grove of Anaheim, with the idea that it would be their final performances before going on an extended hiatus while frontman Nick 13 pursued a solo path into retro country. Yet every year since then they've returned to play more gigs at the Grove (2200 E. Katella Ave.) without touring elsewhere.

O.C. acolytes continue to be spoiled: while fans across the country keep missing out, this year alone we've gotten a Pacific Amphitheatre set with the Blasters and now this weekend's two Octoberflame IV blasts in Anaheim. Tonight's bill also features Swingin' Utters and Reckless Ones; Saturday's roster includes veteran O.C. punk band Agent Orange and Stellar Corpses. Tickets are $25 each night. Show time is 8 p.m. 714-712-27000 or citynationalgroveofanaheim.com, 800-745-3000 or ticketmaster.com.

• The Lemonheads -- Evan Dando started refurbishing this cult favorite of '90s alt-rock back in 2005, but now the group is rummaging through the past as much as moving forward: their current tour finds the quartet performing 1992's It's a Shame about Ray – the only essential Lemonheads album – in its entirety. Catch them tonight at 8 at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano (33157 Camino Capistrano). The Gromble and the Hard will open. Tickets are $20. Also at the venue this week: never-say-die metal band Anvil, Sunday, $15; and another '90s act, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Thursday, $35. Gary Sinise & the Lt. Dan Band's show on Saturday is sold out, however. 949-496-8930. thecoachhouse.com.

• Mastodon -- One of the most acclaimed heavy rock bands in action, this Atlanta quartet returns to Southern California touting another complex album, September release The Hunter, and an often devastating live show that can overwhelm the senses. See them Tuesday at the Wiltern in Los Angeles (3790 Wilshire Blvd.), with the Dillinger Escape Plan and Red Fang opening. Tickets are $23.50-$29.50. 800-745-3000. livenation.com.

• tUnE-yArDs -- New England singer-songwriter Merrill Garbus, the creative force behind this project whose second album (w h o k i l l) has been racking up raves since April, returns to headline Wednesday night at the Music Box in Hollywood (6126 Hollywood Blvd.), with innovative DJ Cut Chemist opening. Tickets are $20. Also at the former Fonda Theatre next week: Simple Plan, with Marianas Trench, tonight, $26.50 (also Halloween at the Glass House in Pomona, $21); and AWOLNATION, Thursday, $15. 800-745-3000. themusicbox.la.

September 14th, 2011, 3:30 pm by BEN WENER, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

We've waited more than a month to find out who else will join the Airborne Toxic Event at LA Weekly's third annual LA 101 bash at Gibson Amphitheatre on Oct. 23. Now we know, and the additions are solid.

Tokyo Police Club and Delta Spirit (featuring Matt Vasquez, pictured) also will appear on the main stage, which will kick off at 7:15 that night. More bands will appear starting at 3 on an outdoor stage, alongside art exhibits, food kiosks and more. Tickets, $22.50-$39.50, are on sale now.

Also at Gibson, two more shows, Nov. 18-19, have been added to Mexican folk hero Vincente Fernandez's annual stand at the Universal CityWalk venue, bringing the number of performances up to five. Nydia Rojas opens. Tickets for the new dates, $70-$225, go on sale Thursday, Sept. 15, at 1 p.m.

When last we saw Sara Bareilles, she was opening for Sugarland's two nights at the Greek Theatre. Now the new judge of NBC's The Sing Off (alongside Ben Folds and Shawn Stockman of Boyz II Men) has her own headlining L.A. gig planned, Dec. 9 gig at the Hollywood Palladium, with fellow singer-songwriter Joshua Radin opening. Tickets, $32, are on sale Friday at 10 a.m.

Celebrated metal band Mastodon is about to drop its fifth album, The Hunter, due Sept. 27, after which the Atlanta quartet will head out on tour, arriving locally for a Nov. 1 show at the Wiltern in Los Angeles. The Dillinger Escape Plan and Red Fang will open. Tickets, $23.50-$29.50, are also on sale Friday at 10 a.m.

Didn't feel like braving the heat at Stagecoach to see Rascal Flatts in April? Maybe this will tickle your fancy instead: the country trio will return with its own Flatts Fest, Sept. 17 at San Manuel Amphitheater, formerly Hyundai Pavilion, in Devore. Bolstering the fan appeal are two opening acts: Sara Evans and Justin Moore.

The tour will boast a new production design and setlist, plus an interactive pre-show festival scene for tailgaters with activities spread throughout the plaza and parking areas. Plans include a mobile karaoke vehicle, carnival games, photo booths, putt-putt golf and plenty of food vendors.

Elsewhere: Saúl Hernández may have canceled and/or postponed all of his Southern California dates this month, but his reunion with influential Mexican rock band Caifanes is still moving forward. Having already surfaced earlier this year at Coachella, the group will return Oct. 14 to headline Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, as a special-edition event from Reventon Super Estrella. Tickets, $39.50-$119, go on sale Friday at 10 a.m.

Meanwhile, across the L.A. Live plaza at Club Nokia, recent Powerhouse player DJ Quik will perform Aug. 27, with Suga Free in tow. Tickets, $35 in advance, $45 for VIP, are on sale Friday at 10 a.m. Also, the Jamie Foxx Unplugged show slated for Saturday has been postponed to Sept. 9, $35-$45. All tickets for the earlier date will be honored on the new one.

September 16th, 2008, 6:16 pm by BEN WENER, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

• Apart from reminders about AC/DC at the Forum and Maxwell at the Shrine (both on sale this weekend), there are big country shows to announce this week, starting with Alan Jackson and Trace Adkins, who are teaming for a show Nov. 23 (the Sunday before Thanksgiving, fyi) at the soon-to-open Citizen's Business Bank Arena in Ontario. Tickets for that dynamic duo, $60-$75, go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, Sept. 19. Meanwhile, bona fide legend Merle Haggard will headline Dec. 4 at the Grove of Anaheim. Those seats, $40-$65, go on sale at noon Saturday, Sept. 20.

• A quick note that the Black Crowes have canceled their shows at the Greek Theatre (Sept. 17) and Santa Barbara Bowl (Sept. 19) as well as their appearance this weekend at San Diego Street Scene, due to an illness in the band. Refunds for the two headlining gigs are available at point of purchase.

• Rilo Kiley vocalist Jenny Lewis, whose second solo album, Acid Tongue, arrives Sept. 23, will play Oct. 30 at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown L.A. Psych-country act Beachwood Sparks and Rilo bassist Pierre de Reeder (whose first album, The Way That It Was, arrived in August) will open. Tickets are $30. Elsewhere, another frontwoman stepping out on her own, Dresden Dolls' Amanda Palmer -- whose solo disc Who Killed Amanda Palmer? came out today -- will headline Dec. 16 at the Music Box at the Fonda in Hollywood. Those tickets are $24. Both shows go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday.

• Jam band Gov't Mule has enlisted a new bassist, Jorgen Carlsson, just issued a live double-DVD (The Tale of Two Cities) and is embarking on another tour, with a local stop planned for Nov. 20 at House of Blues Anaheim, $27.50-$67.50, on sale Saturday. Back Door Slam will open. Also at the club and on sale that day: Blind Melon, Oct. 24, $17.50-$35 ... Missy Higgins with Joshua Radin, Nov. 9, $17.50-$32.50 ... soul man Eric Benet, Nov. 25, $27.50-$62.50 ... and Secondhand Serenade and Cute Is What We Aim For with Automatic Loveletter and A Rocket to the Moon, Nov. 29, $17.50-$27.50.